9 day trip to Spain this September (Barcelona, Sevilla, Granada, Madrid)

Way too much in 9 days.
Do 2 cities.

It's very busy. You have two full days in Barcelona, two in Sevilla, one in Granada, and one in Madrid. You have three days travelling between cities, not counting your arrival and departure days. The "open jaw" flight plan is smart. I'd say you could fit in most of your Barcelona and Sevilla sights in the time available, but not the Madrid sights. The day trips to Cordoba and Toledo don't seem realistic.

Don't sleep at the Barcelona airport, even that first night. Drag yourselves into a hotel in the city so you won't have to move again. Trains are probably the best way from Barcelona to Sevilla, changing at Madrid's Atocha station, but will take at least half a day. So would flights if you consider airport logistics. Likewise Sevilla to Granada is best by train, with direct trains via Cordoba. If you want to see Cordoba, it's probably done best as a stopover between Sevilla and Granada, or perhaps Granada and Madrid, if you can find a place to store bags or you're willing to spend a night there.

I think you'll need advance tickets for Sagrada Familia, Picasso Museum, Royal Alcazar, and Alhambra (get that one ASAP). You may need them for other places too, others here will have better info on that. I hope this is a good memorable anniversary trip, and if you can't "do it all," remember our host's advice to "assume that you will return." Happy Anniversary!

We flew into Madrid for a long weekend and then took a bus to Granada for two nghts. You can also take a train.

Then we took Vueling Airways over to Barcelona. Spain is large, and the flight was still an hour long. And the flight was inexpensive.

We do wish that in Granada that we'd had time to go to a Flamingo dance show by the gypsies up in the caves.

Thanks, all! Any thoughts on whether it makes more sense to head to Sevilla or Granada after Barcelona?

Yes,
Way too much wasted time traveling, cut to two cities.

I agree with the others on too much. Traveling around Spain is time consuming. I just completed your itinerary, but had 19 days! And this was not my first trip - some of your must-sees in Madrid I skipped on this visit.

I would focus either on highlights of Madrid and Barcelona, or save Barcelona for next time and do Madrid, Sevilla, Granada. Even leaving out Barcelona, that will not be “in depth” for those three spots.

Many here will disagree saying Sevilla deserves more time, but for my recent trip, I spent 3 nights in Cordoba and used one of the full days to take a day trip to Sevilla. I comfortably saw the Cathedral, Royal Alcazar, and Plaza España. The itinerary fit my needs.

Also, map out the days of the week when you will be in Madrid. Many of the museums are closed on Mondays. (Toledo also)

Well while this isn’t the way I would plan a trip for myself, I am going to say that if this is the time you have, there’s nothing wrong with it.

I chose bus between Seville and Granada simply because there were more times offered - just convenience. I chose train Granada to Madrid because I liked the times (and generally prefer trains).

For purchasing well ahead, I would say Sagrada Familia and the Alhambra, if those are on your priority list. Otherwise, you may need to wait till a few days ahead and figure out what you will or won’t have time for.

You only have one day in Madrid, so pick your top 2 OR a day trip.

You have identified highlights - but you probably can’t fit it all in. It’s ok - as long as you realize that ahead of time. We can never do it all.

For the question of order, I think it’s just a matter of choosing between your alternatives. (And I don’t know what they are). Some people fly Barcelona to Granada - if that worked better, you could go to Seville after Granada, then on to Madrid.

Based on my recent experience in a less popular travel time than yours, I would say you will also need to pre-book Parc Guell if you want to visit there. My week in early March sold out. You can monitor the website to see availability.

Others have mentioned pre-booking Alhambra, Royal Alcazar, Familia Sagrada with which I concur.

Actually, many of your highlights take advance planning I would monitor the Picasso Museum, Sevilla Cathedral, and Mezquita in Cordoba if you go. in Madrid, the Palace should be watched for availability and Prado is easier with advance purchase.

Your time will be tight if you try for the original itinerary, so watching the websites for entry times meeting your needs may become important- or you may lose out if your times are sold out.

To answer your question…..
Recommend flying to Granada from Barcelona then take train to Seville and then train to Madrid.
And now a commercial pause to advocate a “be there” instead of a “see there” journey.
Your four city itinerary is aggressive to the point of creating memories about travel in lieu of memories of experiences at each city.

Commercial over.

Ah Spain! Great place!

I have no issue with number of cities you want to see myself but pace is always a personal choice. If you look at the sample itinerary of the legendary Rick Steves on this very website you can get his expert take. I just got back of his Basque region tour-- outstanding-- and we spent 2 nights in 4 cities. Everyone on the trip loved it-- including the 80+ year olds. I've also had trips where I went to one city for a month. I loved that too. The tyranny of free will!

The things you identified in your list are great. Advance tickets I believe are recommended for the museums in Barcelona, the alcazar, the Alhambra and I'm sure other places too.

The trains in Spain are fun. I enjoyed them! Fast, smooth. I loved the ride and staring out the windows. As suggested, a flight from Barcelona to Granada may be clever.

Have a great trip!

The ticket line at the Seville Cathedral is often very long; it's outdoors and unshaded. I think you can get tickets online.